Magyar News, 1993. szeptember-1994. augusztus (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1994-04-01 / 8. szám

THE MUSIC AND FAME OF GYÖRGY CZIFFRA The world of music lovers said good-bye to a Hungarian, to a fellow countryman of this community. He is György Cziffra, a world renowned pianist. He died at the age of 72 in France, near Paris. How come that mos t of our readers didn ’ t know about him? Well many years ago he visited the States. Cziffra gave a concert at the Lincoln Center in New York. People filled the auditorium to the last seat, and they were taken by the outstanding perfor­mance. They didn’t want to leave the stage. Carried by this outpouring enthusiasm, Cziffra gave a short encore. He didn’t know the strict regulations of the Union, he just considered the joy and happiness of the people. Those few minutes playing the en­core cost him practically all the money he earned with the concert. The Union made him pay a full hour at overtime rate for the big orchestra. Cziffra at the time stayed with a friend of mine. They told me how disillusioned he was. He couldn’t understand how material­istic matters could override the joy of mu­sic. He vowed not to play any more in the USA. So we learned about his music from records. Cziffra was bom in 1921 in Budapest, in a poor section called Angyalföld. His par­ents were gypsies who performed in a cir­cus band. His talent showed at a very early age. Before he went to school he already played for big crowds under the circus tent. When he was 9, he was accepted to the Franz Liszt Music Academy. He was giv­ing a concert at the time the Hungarian Revolution was quenched and there he de­cided to defect. Having the fame of the highest ranking, he settled in France. He established his own recording studio and by 1970 he wanted to make a contribution to the arts. The French Cultural Minister Andre Malraux advised Cziffra to purchase the Saint Frambourg Chapel near Paris. This was a Gothic style building, old and ne­glected. Cziffra restored it to its full beauty and opened it to the public in 1977 as “Franz Liszt Auditorium.” He also estab­lished a Foundation to help young musi­cians. The lower part of the chapel housed exhibitions of fine art, and the upper level became the home of significant concerts. Every year series of music events took place here called the “Festival du Graal.” He used this name because the chapel had ties to the Knights of the Round Table. It was here that Hugues Capet was declared first king of France. Pope Sylvester sent him a crown a few years before he sent one to St. Stephan. Two of the stained glass windows in the chapel depict scénes of the life of the Hungarian St. Elizabeth. The historic place of the French people became a landmark for music and for the Hungarians. We missed meeting György Cziffra, but we listen to and cherish his music. Joseph F. Balogh THE WILD ROSE— A while back I read Michener’s “Bridge at Andau” which moved me very much and brought home to me what the Freedom Fighters lived through in those few days of that glorious Revolution of 1956. I have now read “The Wild Rose” by Doris Mortman which is what my father would have called a “ponyva regény” but which described even more vividly the days of the Revolution. It gave an enlightened background of what led to it as this was not an impulsive act which happened because of a few irregularities or a few tyrannical happenings. I quote “Recsk was Hungary’s secret shame. It had been built in 1948 to house enemies of the Stanlinist state.” Zoltán’s crime had been to speak out against the dictatorial regime of Mátyás Rákosi, who had visited a reign of terror on the Hungar­ian people. “In the days following his im­prisonment Zoltán had been denied food, forbidden any contact with the outside. He was beaten so often he grew accustomed to seeing his body spotted with hideous bruises.” One of the guides, Kassak, had come from Zoltan’s own town and had always been envious of Zoltán and now Kassak was in a position of power. Zoltán was a virtuoso at the violin and as punish­ment Kassak had him play the violin for 24 hours without pause, threatening to beat unmercifully or even kill 20 prisoners who he chose randomly. After 24 hours he told him to stop. He then told Zoltán that he ^Hungarian ^Seritage ^Reinein The Hungarian Heritage Review maga­zine had many readers in our area. Some years ago they stopped publishing it and the readers really missed it. The publisher of this magazine was Paul Pulitzer who gradu­ated from the UCLA School of Journalism. For many decades he worked hard on spread­ing our Hungarian heritage. He was chair­man of the Ethnic Advisory Council in New Jersey. Pulitzer was involved in pro­grams of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. In 1969 Paul Pulitzer was crowned a Knight of Malta. For his devotion and work for the Hungarian heritage we would have expected an acknowledgment from Hun­gary, also. Paul Pulitzer, journalist and publisher died at the age of 77. page 6 MELTING ICE Many things came up in connection with this year’s Winter Olympics. What I missed were the Hungarians. There was a Hungar­ian name from Austria and to be honest about it, we saw names of real Hungarians, even though for a fragment of a second. In Summer Olympics we usually do better. Somehow the winter sports don’t sit well with the Hungarians who are fed with hot paprika. These hot blooded Hungarians would melt the ice. So where would we go from there? fji rS'M*. ERA®V.P. REALTY INC. MARGARET FENVESI Office: 203-268-8645 • Home: 203-924-8472 Magyarul Beszélünk 5802 MAIN ST. • TRUMBULL, CT 06611 Each office independently owned and operated ERA® REAL ESTAl't hated his playing. Then he took away and smashed the violin, stomping on the larger pieces until it was all in splinters; he “then took aclub and slammed it down on Zoltán’s hands, hitting him again and again, crush­ing his fingers until the skin lay nearly flat against the table.” This book is not only about torture, hate and evil because there is a good plot involv­ing a beautiful violinist and a gypsy primas that twines in and out of the story. I also like the way it skips from America to Europe and back again; from New York City to the small mining town of Woodridge, a town in the Cumberland Plateau region of Ken­tucky. This is an enjoyable book for anyone to read, but especially so for Hungarians. I enjoyed seeing Hungarian words scattered through the book, even those that were misspelled. Helen Varaljay Pamela K. Revak Attorney at Law 1275 Post Road, Suite 212 Fairfield, Connecticut ESTATE, TRUST AND TAXATION SERVICES, INCLUDING TAX RETURN PREPARATION 259-9578

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